Shane Victorino Injury: Updates on Red Sox Outfielder's Status

During the top of the fourth inning of the Boston Red Sox's 12-4 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays, outfielder Shane Victorino crashed into the right-field wall while catching a fly ball hit by Colby Rasmus. Victorino was down in pain but ended up staying in the game until the sixth inning.

According to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com, Shane Victorino has been cleared to play after yesterday's scary collision with the right field wall.

According to a major league source, Red Sox outfielder Shane Victorino has been cleared to play Tuesday after being examined at Massachusetts General Hospital Sunday afternoon. All of the X-ray images taken on the outfielder came back negative, showing no damage to his ribs or back.

There has been no official word on his status for Tuesday's game vs. Tampa Bay.

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There's no word on his status for future games.

Upon crashing into the wall, Victorino went down and grabbed at his abdomen as trainers ran out to check on him. After remaining down on the field for an extended period of time, Victorino got back up and signaled that he could continue.

During the sixth inning, however, he stepped out.

Prior to the injury, Victorino had gone 1-for-3 with an infield single in the bottom of the third. This was a continuation of what has been a strong beginning to the season, as outfielder is hitting .308 with 18 runs scored thus far.

Losing Victorino would certainly be a tough blow to handle for the stumbling Red Sox.

Boston remains 22-16 but has lost eight of its past 10 games. In that time, however, Victorino has hit .344 and scored six runs, which displays that not all hope was lost for a turnaround.

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Losing Victorino to injury, however, would be a tough blow to overcome.

Victorino has dealt with injuries in the past, but he played in 154 games in 2012 as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers. Thus far with the Red Sox, however, he's already missed nine games.

The hope is that this injury will not lead to another absence.

Victorino is one of the more decorated players in the MLB, making two All-Star appearances and earning three Gold Glove awards. He has also led the MLB in triples twice and was a member of the 2008 World Series champion Phillies.

Boston appears to believe that the veteran can have a similar impact on its squad.

If he's healthy, there's no question that Victorino can be a legitimate game-changer both as a hitter and defender. If this injury sidelines him, however, the Red Sox's slip in the standings could continue.